Steering makes noise, 24 hours later no power steering AND no brakes...

[JamesCohen]

Did the power steering pump die, or is it something else??



Monday afternoon I notied my steering making noises when doing low speed turns. The wheel would pulsate and slightly more effort was needed to turn it. With the hood open and me turning the wheel back and forth the lines to the power brake booster were shaking back and forth. I checked the power steering fluid level and it was a little low, but still within high-low limits.



24 hours later, I'm heading home from work and just as I'm about to merge onto I-95 near Philadelphia I make a hard right turn and bam... the power steering and brakes go completely out on me! I like to think that I'm a strong guy, and it took all the strength I had to keep the truck from going off the road and also being able to stop if (both feet on the pedal and downshifting into 1st!)!! If my mother or sister had been driving the truck when this happend there's no doubt that they would have gotten in an accident for sure. I was able to limp it the remaining 25 miles home.



Fluid level was still the same, although I couldn't see any fluid circulation with the cap off and the motor running. I'm ASSuming that the pump died on me. Truck has 63,000 miles.



I'm out of my 3/36 bumper-to-bumper, and I don't think this would be covered by the 7/70 powertrain, but is there any recourse I have with the dealership on this?



Are there any recalls or TSBs on this??



Thanks.

 

[JCasper]

Sounds to me like it's the pump. The Hydroboost unit for the brakes is operated by the PS Pump.



I would fight like heck for it to be covered under warranty. There is no reason for it to go out so soon and to cause that kind of scare.





Also if you had no brakes I would bet your hydroboost unit is bad also. There should be a reserve in it for if the pump fails. That unit is spendy.

 

[JApol]

The last 1/2 inch of travel in the brake pedal should be the failsafe. I had to use it on my truck a little over a month ago to get my truck stopped. My problem is not related to yours as I still had steering.



I agree with JCasper as your power steering pump is probably done. If you have the time to have the pump replaced and check your brake booster after that hopefully its still good.

 

[rbattelle]

I agree with the others that the pump is probably bad (it's the common link between steering and brakes).

But just to be sure, check to make sure the belt is still present and functional. [I know, you'd think the batteries would run out of juice and the engine would overheat, but stranger things have happened!]

Ryan

 

[JamesCohen]

Hopefully my experience and notes/photos below will be useful to someone else. My truck is a 2004. 5 2500 4x4 QC SB.



Yesterday when the pump died I checked the fluid level it was ok. There was no fluid movement inside the reservoir when the truck was running. I drove it about 30 miles home and parked it. Looking at it today, all the fluid had leaked out, but there was no change in steering or braking effort - it was still awful.



I decided to replace the entire pump - $111 at the dealer. The job took me about 4 hours start to finish. The steering and brakes were immediately better than they had been. I guess my old pump was on its way out for a while and I didn't know it!



1) I first unhooked the cooler lines under the radiator and let it drain.

2) Removing the serpentine belt was easy, just use a 1/2 socket wrench (fit the 1/2 square end into the tensioner and use a piece of pipe for extra leverage.

3) Getting to the 3 bolts that held the pump on was a pain so I took the fan shroud off (helps to take the airbox out first). At this point it probably would be easier to get the bolts from below (I did it from the top).

4) I removed the 3 bolts, put the pump on its side and then unhooked the low pressure hose on the bottom.

5) I pulled the pump assembly out of the top of the engine.

6) I used about 1 1/2 quarts of ATF+4 to fill it back up. After the inital 1 quart I moved the wheel back and forth with the engine off, then the engine on for 1 minute or two, pumping the brakes as I went on. I then topped it off with the remaining 1/2 quart.





Attached are some pictures I took of the new vs. old parts.



I had read several threads prior to doing this job where members talked about pulling the flow piston and other pump internals out and cleaning them, mainly the flow piston screen. On my old pump these internals were different than what other members photos had shown. I also should note that the new pump has a different style pulley and fill cap, but neither should affect how it works.



These are the threads I'm talking about:



How to prime the power steering pump...

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...embers-only/176666-doa-how-prime-ps-pump.html



Pictures of the pump internals along with cleaning the flow piston screen...

https://www.turbodieselregister.com...possible-low-power-steering-assist-fix-3.html

 

[JCasper]

Glad to hear it's working now. I heard theres a way to check to be sure your hydroboost is working, but I'm not sure what it was.



Basically the little cylinder thing on it has a charge in it and is supposed to give you power brakes when/if you lose power steering.